Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D., serves as the CEO of Engineering Health (EnHealth) and is the Executive Dean for the Engineering Medicine (EnMed) program at Texas A&M University in partnership with Houston Methodist Hospital. Dr. Pettigrew also holds the endowed Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry. After receiving his bachelor of science degree in physics from Morehouse College as a Merrill Scholar, Dr. Pettigrew attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he earned his master of science degree in nuclear science and engineering. Dr. Pettigrew went on to pursue his Ph.D. in radiation physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he applied nuclear engineering to medical problems. Subsequently, he attained his medical doctorate from Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. He completed his medical internship and residency in internal medicine at the Emory University Affiliated Hospitals. He also finished his residency in nuclear medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

Internationally recognized as a leader in biomedical imaging and bioengineering, Dr. Pettigrew served as the first Director for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research focused on integrated imaging and predictive biochemical modeling of coronary artery disease. Dr. Pettigrew led a national effort with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to develop a new interdisciplinary graduate training program and established the Quantum Projects program to answer healthcare problems. Prior to his appointment at the NIH, he joined Emory University School of Medicine as a Professor of Radiology and Georgia Institute of Technology as a Professor of Bioengineering. He was then appointed as the director of the Emory Center for Magnetic Resonance Research. Dr. Pettigrew is well-known for pioneering four-dimensional imaging of the cardiovascular system using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition to his numerous achievements, he is an elected member to both the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering. He is also elected to the National Academy of Sciences, India. He was named Honorary Professor of the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, in establishing their first medical school class.